Created by star Fran Drescher and her ex-husband, Peter Marc Jacobsen, "The Nanny" became a hit for CBS and ran from 1993-1999. Although the nasal-voiced Drescher (Fran to another character: "Do I sound like I have a cold?" The response? "Constantly.") may have seemed to be a bit of a risk to be front-and-center on a sitcom every week, but the show moves the spotlight around enough and figures out enough for the characters to do to keep from wearing the core "fish out of water" idea thin or having too much of Drescher result in the show becoming grating.

As the theme song describes, the show stars Drescher as Fran, a former cosmetics saleswoman from Queens who loses her job and ends up working as a Nanny to the three kids of a widowed British businessman named Maxwell Sheffield. Although she comes from a different background, the kids - Maggie (Nicholle Tom), Brighton (Benjamin Salisbury) and Grace (Madeline Zima) take well to her and she becomes a friend and mother figure to them. She even gets along well with the snooty butler, Niles (Daniel Davis). Throughout the seasons, Fran and Mr. Sheffield (Charles Shaughnessy) started to develop feelings for one another, as well, much to the dismay of his business associate, C.C. (Lauren Lane).

The series still churns out some very funny efforts, such as the animated "Oy to the World", the show's animated holiday special, where Fran and Brighton find themselves in the North Pole with the task of helping Kris Kringle save Christmas. Other highlights include: "Franny and the Professor" (C.C.'s college professor bets he can make Fran into a "Jeopardy" contestant), "The Kibbutz" (While Maxwell wants to sent Maggie to a Swiss convent, Fran convinces her to try a kibbutz instead), "Fashion Show" (Maxwell hires Fran to design the costumes for a charity benefit), "Where's the Pearls?" (Frank loses her memory and Elizabeth Taylor's priceless pearl necklace in an accident) and the season finale, "A Pup in Paris" (which sees Fran accidentally ending up with Maxwell on a romantic trip to Paris.)

Although I wouldn't consider "The Nanny" among the very best of the 90's sitcoms, the series is still often quite consistently funny and the performances are solid. Drescher's trademark nasal whine may have been a bit much for some viewers, but she's more than skilled with the show's many one-liners, and plays off her co-stars quite well. This third season doesn't change the formula much, but the show still remains consistent in quality both in front of and behind the camera.